Wednesday, August 1, 2012

SIX E-LEARNING MYTHS AND THE REALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH IT

E-learning courses have seen a downward trend in recent times. In
this article; we look at several misconceptions and realities
associated with e-learning courses.

E-learning
industry has been going through a tough stage. There are mixed
reactions which have been received from students about the quality of
e-learning courses. There are some misconceptions associated with
e-learning which needs to be clarified. Let us look at these
misconceptions and the realities associated with it:

Myth: Quantity is as significant as quality.
Generally e-learning is priced according to the volume produced. Even
customers are concerned with the volume of content rather than the
quality of the content. But this is not correct.

Reality: If the e-learning course is designed
taking into consideration quality of the content, then the same course
can get reduced by a considerable margin. This will ultimately result in
saving of time. The employees can then concentrate on their work and
learn through practical case studies provided in the e-learning
courses.

Myth: All the content is important. Lots of
times customers feel that all the content is important for the
e-learning course. However, that is not the case.

Reality: There is no guarantee that everything
displayed in the course will be understood and recalled by the student.
Hence; it is important for the customers to understand that all the
content is not required for the course and only the important parts
that comprises of major learning needs to be integrated in the course.
Content should be designed keeping in aspect different things like:
usability approach, frequency, importance and type of use etc. Once
these aspects have been decided then the content is prepared keeping in
focus the training, reference material and things to exclude from the
content.

Myth: E-learning is just a course. Most of the
customers believe that e-learning is merely an electronic textbook that
replaces classroom training. That is not true.

Reality: It is more involved in practical
approaches which help people in improving their performance. It should
comprise of various different subjects like:

Knowledge management

Performance support systems

Intranets

Practice environments

Standard electronic courses

Myth: Things will become easier once the
technology improves. There is a common belief that e-learning is
falling behind because of the current state of technology. There is
always a hope for a miracle cure round the corner but the major problem
is the level of training at the level of delivery. Reality:
Lot of time is devoted to understand the content management and
training approach which will never go away. This does not mean that
improvements in technology, standards, and theories will not help but
it will not cure the current problems faced in designing e-learning courses easily.

Myth: E-learning is easy. Clients believe that
they are paying for simplicity. But is it so simple to make the
complicated subject simpler?

Reality: Clients often expect simpler solutions
to complicated ones. But e-learning has always been more about making
complex things clearer and simple.

Myth: E-learning provides one-time quick fix
solution. It is often believed that e-learning provides quick fix
solution to practical problems in real time. However; that is not true.

Reality: It really takes time and energy to develop content for the courses in accordance to the target audience.

E-learning courses give practical exposure to the students. With the
help of these courses; corporate executives can learn to solve
practical problems faced in the organization. An efficient e-learning
course provider should take these points seriously and create a
proficient course that meets the needs of the target audience.

About emPower

emPower is a leading provider of comprehensive Healthcare Compliance Solutions through Learning Management System (LMS).
Its mission is to provide innovative security solutions to enable
compliance with applicable laws and regulations and maximize business
performance. empower provides range of courses to manage compliance
required by regulatory bodies such as OSHA, HIPAA, Joint commission and
Red Flag Rule etc. Apart from this emPower also offers custom demos
and tutorials for your website, business process management and
software implementation.

Its Learning Management system (LMS) allows students to retrieve all the
courses 24/7/365 by accessing the portal. emPower e-learning training
program is an interactive mode of learning that guides students to
progress at their own pace.